Tag Archives: HTC smartphones

HTC has just confirmed that a hardware problem is causing Wi-Fi connectivity issues with their HTC One X smartphone. To verify if your One X smartphone is defective... simply run the Wi-Fi squeeze test if the signal strength improves - it confirms that the device is defective.

The company is obviously faced with a tough hardware problem. A software update isn’t the answer. This isn’t the first time HTC has had Wi-Fi signal problems. Awhile back its HTC Sensation suffered from antenna design problems.

HTC has stepped up early and accepted blame. In a public statement a company rep said: "After investigating isolated reports of Wi-Fi connectivity issues in the HTC One X, we have identified a fix that strengthens the area of the phone around the Wi-Fi antennae connection points. While many customers have not experienced any problems with signal strength, we have taken immediate steps to implement a solution in our production process to prevent this issue from happening in the future. HTC is committed to making sure every customer has a great experience and we apologize for any inconvenience this issue may have caused while we conducted a thorough investigation."

This statement describes the production changes going forward, but there still doesn’t appear to be a plan for dealing with the defective phones already in consumer hands. Everyone is covered by the warranty replacement protection, so if you think your phone has the problem, take it back to the point of purchase right away. Don’t let the warranty period expire.

We hope HTC takes their corrective action one step further and provides protection for this defect to One X owners on an unlimited basis. What’s to say the problem couldn’t pop up in these phones at a later date?

Grace Lei, HTC’s general counsel, said the company wants ownership of S3′s patents, in part, as a response to the 2011 U.S. International Trade Commission finding that Apple was in violation of various S3 patents (although this ruling was later overturned.) As Lei put it at the annual HTC shareholder’s meeting, “We think S3′s patent portfolio is valid and strong, and we have decided to complete the purchase of S3 after cautious assessment.” Lei also noted that S3 owns about 270 patents, including those licensed to Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft.

HTC has been locked in a battle with Apple over its alleged infringement of Apple patents in its Android handsets. Apple had been able get U.S. Customs to delay shipments of the HTC One X smartphone to U.S. carriers, in effect delaying that device’s launch by two weeks.

U.S. Customs cleared the devices for shipment at the end of May. HTC is insisting that its technology does not infringe upon Apple’s patents.